Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to involve young people in the co-production of local youth services.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Co-produced with 14,000 young people, ‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’ is a 10 year plan to ensure every young person across the country has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of.

A key focus of the Strategy is to empower young people, placing them in the driving seat of designing local youth services. We are ensuring local authorities co-design their local youth offers with young people to meet their needs.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure a place-based approach to funding of youth services.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The National Youth Strategy includes a shift from national to local. This will renew focus on the role, capability, and leadership of local authorities, with a place-based approach to funding to empower local communities and young people in designing their local youth offers. Through this approach, we are committed to ensuring funding reaches those most in need across the length and breadth of England.

The £70m Local Youth Transformation programme is improving local authorities’ capability to rebuild a high-quality youth offer and develop a network of 50 Young Futures Hubs. We are also simplifying local authority grant funding across government and consolidating local funding for young people and families where possible. This provides greater local flexibility and sustainability.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the shortage of secure HGV parking on the haulage industry.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department recognises that a shortage of secure HGV parking can have impacts on the haulage industry, including on driver welfare.

A national survey of lorry parking is underway which will provide a fresh baseline on the availability of secure lorry parking and HGV driver welfare provision. The 2026 survey is scheduled to be published in the autumn.

The survey was last conducted in 2022 and provided the evidence base for the design of the HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme. With industry, this scheme is delivering up to £35.7 million in joint investment to enhance truck stops across England. The Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the scheme to consider its application and delivery process, the role of the scheme in improving lorry driver facilities, including security, in England and the impact of the site improvements for drivers. This analysis is underway and due to be finalised in Summer 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with the logistics and haulage industry on improving welfare facilities for HGV drivers.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Department for Transport ministers and officials hold regular discussions with representatives from the logistics and haulage industry to understand the sector’s priorities, including for improving driver welfare and rest facilities.

The Freight Council met on the 11 February under the chair of the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security and was an opportunity for the industry to raise concerns, including on welfare facilities for HGV drivers.

More recently, on the 25 February the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security and the Policing Minister Sarah Jones jointly hosted a freight roundtable with representatives from the haulage sector, trade bodies and police in attendance. Ministers heard directly from the sector on their concerns relating to freight crime including HGV parking and drivers' welfare.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to shorten the time taken to issue Remediable Service Statements to members of the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is working closely with the scheme administrator to process Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) as quickly and efficiently as possible. Several factors have affected the original delivery timeline, including technical dependencies, regulatory requirements, coordination with external partners and preparation for a transition of contractor.

The department continues to monitor progress and is working closely with the scheme administrator to streamline processes and introduce automation where possible. Any pension adjustments arising from members’ choices will be backdated with interest to ensure members are not financially disadvantaged.

The administrator will keep affected members informed of revised timelines through established channels, including My Pension Online and its website. The latest update is available at: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/11/timeline-for-sending-out-remediable-service-statements-rss.aspx.

As responsibility for this work transitions to the new administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in summer 2026, the department is working with the new administrator to finalise the timeline for issuing all RSSs. Once the timeline is confirmed, it will be communicated to relevant members.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer Question 112455 on Teachers: Workplace Pensions from the Rt hon. Member for Burton and Uttoxeter.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The response to Written Parliamentary Question 112455 was published on 20 March 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department is making to align the UK’s descriptor guidance for low and no alcohol products with that employed by the EU and other international trade partners.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government has committed to consult on raising the upper alcohol limit for drinks labelled as alcohol-free to 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) from 0.05% ABV, which would bring the labelling guidance for no and low alcohol drink alternatives for England into alignment with international standards and several EU countries.

Departmental officials are progressing work to take forward this commitment, and we will update stakeholders in due course.

Alongside the plan, a large multi-year National Institute for Health and Care Research study is underway to examine the public health impacts of NoLo products, and we look forward to the findings the study being available later this year.

Staffordshire Day 2026

100th anniversary of the birth of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

St George’s Day 2026

Found: meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Mrs Elsie Blundell; Jacob Collier

Found: meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Mrs Elsie Blundell; Jacob Collier

Found: meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Mrs Elsie Blundell; Jacob Collier